


I'm known to hide

by Aces_and_Roses



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Phantom Limb Pain, just... so soft, phantom limb syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-09-01 01:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20250178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aces_and_Roses/pseuds/Aces_and_Roses
Summary: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is clinically defined as the perception of pain or discomfort in a limb that no longer exists.





	I'm known to hide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cruelest_month](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruelest_month/gifts).

> For the prompt: "You're never alone. I'm here for you."

Being woken up in the middle of the night by a searing pain in his leg wasn’t unusual for Zolf. It hadn’t been in years; ever since he’d lost it. Sure, it had gotten less frequent as time passed, but that didn’t mean it surprised him. He would just sit up, massaging his leg the way the doctors had told him to, or if that didn’t work he’d grab the compression sleeve out of his nightstand drawer and slide it on, then try to go back to sleep.

Or at least, that was what he used to do.

Now, he sat up abruptly, clenching his jaw against the pained noise that threatened to tear its way out of him at the burning sensation racing up and down the calf that wasn’t actually there.

Now, he felt the bed shift beside him as Hamid propped himself up on one elbow, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to clear the sleep from them. He heard Hamid’s confused noise as he saw Zolf sitting up, then “Zolf?” whispered in a voice still rough with sleep, but gentle and quiet nonetheless. “What’s wrong?”

Now, there was someone else there that Zolf had to worry about disturbing; something that had never been the case before.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Zolf said through gritted teeth, trying his damnedest not to let the pain become evident in his voice. Hamid didn’t need to deal with it; Zolf was fine. “Go back to sleep.”

Hamid laid a gentle hand on top of the one Zolf hadn’t even noticed he’d fisted on his thigh. “It doesn’t seem like nothing’s wrong. Talk to me, my love.” He took his hand away - leaving Zolf’s feeling suddenly cold - and sat up fully, shifting to kneel facing him. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Hamid stared at Zolf in the near-complete darkness of their bedroom, a concerned look on his face as he wrung his hands in his lap. It took nearly all of Zolf’s self control to look away, to murmur “I’m fine,” despite it being so clearly a lie.

Hamid levelled him with a disappointed look, his lips curving into a frown. “Zolf…”

“It’s fine!” He hadn’t meant to snap, he really hadn’t, and seeing Hamid flinch back slightly at the sharpness of his tone made him feel a sudden flash of guilt. He slouched forward, burying his face in his hands with a groan, then looked back up at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to… Sorry. It’s just… my leg hurts, is all. I can deal with it.”

Hamid reached out, his hand hovering over Zolf’s thigh, close but not quite touching. “What can I do?”

Zolf took the hand in his own, gently guiding it back down to the bed and trying not to grimace as the movement shifted his leg, sending another spike of agony through his missing calf. “It’s alright. I can handle it on my own. You should go back to sleep.”

“Do you really think I could go back to sleep when I know you’re in pain?” Hamid sounded hurt and he scooted closer to Zolf, slowly and carefully so as not to disturb the bed too much. He leaned against Zolf’s side lightly, a warm and reassuring weight next to him.

“I’ve always dealt with it by myself. I’ll be okay, dear.”

Hamid made a quiet, pained noise at that, wrapping an arm around Zolf’s shoulders. “That doesn’t mean you _have _to. You’re never alone. I’m here for you, so let me help.”

Hamid’s tone left Zolf with no doubts as to how far he would be willing to go to convince him, so he conceded with a sigh. “I… touch helps. Massaging the thigh. That sort of thing.”

Hamid smiled softly at him, then set about his task. Zolf felt himself relax as he did, the earlier pain subsiding some under Hamid’s ministrations. After a couple minutes, Hamid whispered, “Any better?”

“Y-yeah. A bit.” The pain was still there, lancing through him every few seconds, but it felt… less urgent, somehow. Less important.

“I have something I want to try, if that’s alright? It might help.” He looked up at him, and Zolf nodded. Hamid lifted his hands from Zolf’s leg, rubbing them together for a moment before setting them back down and- oh, they were warm, almost bordering on hot. Zolf felt the pain subside further to a barely noticeable ache as Hamid continued to massage his leg.

He made an involuntary noise as the heat from Hamid’s hands worked its way into his muscles, and he glanced up at him with a smile. “Good?” Zolf hummed an affirmative and Hamid’s smile grew, obviously pleased. “I’m glad.”

A few more minutes of that saw the pain fade completely, Zolf slowly relaxing back into the bed. He tugged at Hamid’s hands as he did so, pulling him up until he was lying half on top of him, a comforting presence. “Thank you, love. You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.”

Hamid sighed in contentment as Zolf ran his fingers through his hair, nuzzling even closer. “Yes, I did, my treasure.”

Hearing that, Zolf felt a smile creep onto his face for the first time since he’d woken up. “Feeling sappy, are we?”

Hamid leaned up to press a kiss to Zolf’s cheek before settling back against his chest. “When it comes to you? Always.”

Before, Zolf would have suffered in silent agony for at least an hour until he could finally force himself back into a fitful sleep.

Before, he would have handled it by himself, but he would have handled it poorly.

Now, he didn’t have to.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm at redactedquill on tumblr if anyone wants to shoot me a prompt!


End file.
